Religious Studies

Religious Studies refers to the twofold purpose of education in Faith and Education in Religious Knowledge. The classroom teaching and learning environment upholds the principles of other key learning areas where quality teaching and learning is the focus, and knowledge about the Catholic faith is supported by current methods and quality resources.

The Religious environment of San Clemente provides a suitable climate to support the faith formation of the students through regular prayer and liturgies marking key seasons in the Church calendar, along with key feasts and saints days.

The classroom teaching of religion promotes and understanding of Catholic beliefs and practices, and incorporates content with the same systematic demands, creativity and rigour as other Key Learning Areas. It also takes into account developmental stages and attempts to adapt material appropriate to the students’ backgrounds.

The overall goal of classroom religion is expressed in the diocesan policy on The Classroom Teaching of Religion (1999) as:

To enhance or promote knowledge and understanding of the traditions of the Catholic community: its story, its experiences and its teachings, through the following four strands: Jesus and Scripture, History and Beliefs, Celebration and Prayer, Justice and Morality.

The classroom teaching of religion aims to:

Encourage students to find meaning and excitement in learning about the story, experiences and teachings of the Catholic tradition.

Enable students to be more articulate and thoughtful about the Catholic tradition.

Encourage informed participation of students in the Catholic community.

Enable students to know, understand and apply Gospel values in daily life.